Teams across the league are finalizing their draft boards with the NFL Draft now just two weeks away. While there is a general consensus at the top, things get a bit more complicated as you move down the first round.
One player who is expected to be selected in the middle of the first round is University of Georgia tight end Brock Bowers.
NFL analyst Mina Kimes joined the Audacy original podcast “Take Command” and discussed where Bowers could land and if it’d be worth it for the New York Jets to draft a tight end with such a high pick.
“This is why I feel like the war room exercise is really useful because I guarantee you GMs will have to be physically restrained from drafting Brock Bowers — or coaches, rather,” Kimes said. “Offensive coordinators are going to be like “Gimme, gimme, gimme.”
Bowers is a 6-foot-4, 240-pound tight end who set a school record with 13 touchdown catches in the 2021 season. He helped the Bulldogs to two National Championships along the way.
The New York Jets are one of the teams that is expected to sniff around Bowers at 10th overall.
“That’s the first inflection point for Bowers, right, is pick 10. And that’s an interesting one,” Kimes explained. “They’re such a unique team because their timeline is so obviously win-now. But the thing is offensive tackle for them you could argue is both a win-now and a win-long-term move for the Jets because of the age of the offensive tackles that they brought in, Smith and Moses. So it’s tricky.”
First-year players get rookie contracts based on their draft slot. That means that some positions offer more value in that way than others.
“One of the biggest benefits of getting a guy on the rookie contract is the money savings. Pick 10 you’re making about $5 million a year, which is incredible savings if you get a top wide receiver, like your Garrett Wilson in New York for example, because they make in the $20 millions,” Kimes said. “Whereas if you get a tight end at that position you’re not actually saving that much money, so the bar for that tight end is higher… That said, Brock Bowers might be that tight end.”
Most mock drafts have Bowers being selected by the Jets with the 10th pick, while some have him falling to 15th (Colts) or 16th (Seahawks). He may also be an option for the Saints at 14th overall.
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